Southwest Nebraska Street From Corbett Avenue to the Willamette River

At the lower end of this steep hill in the South Portland Neighborhood, Corbett Avenue meets up with SW Nebraska Street. There are numerous sections of Nebraska Street throughout SW Portland. Like many streets in this part of town, it stops abruptly and starts up again elsewhere, as the steep terrain dictates. Southwest Portland is a place where the Thomas Guide leads even cab drivers astray, searching for streets that don’t actually exist.

This January afternoon I spent an hour or so walking the six-block section of Nebraska Street that connects Corbett Avenue and the Willamette River.

At the intersection of Corbett and Nebraska are the Corbett Landing Apartments. The only information I could find about them online was at Portland Maps. (Anyone interested in Portland definitely should become familiar with this amazing website. Type in any Portland address to learn about a property’s owner, its value, utilities, hazards, schools, crime statistics, census information, and much more.) The Corbett Landing Apartments were built in 1929 and the property is assessed at nearly $1 million.

As I began walking east on Nebraska Street, I noticed these intriguing stairs leading to the side entrance of a house.

I always expect people to come out of their houses and ask why I’m taking a picture, but so far no one has!

The West end of this part of Nebraska Street is a mix of newer and older homes, and some of the older ones are beautiful.

The Hope Korean Presbyterian Church of Portland is at the corner of Nebraska Street and Virginia Street. From the sidewalk I could hear the church choir practicing. Here, Nebraska Street changes from mostly residential to mostly commercial as you head east toward Macadam Avenue.

This tidy building is the Badge Print Company. According to its website, its Portland factory “serves the nation with top-quality engraving and digital printing” and has done so for more than 30 years. I’ve passed this little building many times without noticing it. Having a camera in my pocket makes all the difference.

Continuing east I came to the old Porcelli’s Grocery Store. It is now an Italian Restaurant.

The woman working there said their specialty is “Italian comfort food.”

Continuing east I arrived at the Fulton Pub. According to the website, the establishment dates back to 1926 and was known for years as the Home Tavern. It re-opened as a McMenamin’s in 1988. If you’re interested in Nebraska Bitter, 3 Card Monte, Belgian Tripel, or Squirtie Pale Ale, it’s here. Me, I would prefer a glass of Cabernet. I didn’t go inside because they were fairly busy and I wasn’t a paying customer.

But I did walk around back to see the beer garden. I can imagine this would be a fun place to go on a warm evening.

They were just closing at 3:00pm today. I talked to the owner for a few minutes. She said that their specialty is French country cuisine. Her husband is the primary chef and her son is the second chef. In fact, all five of her children work there, as well as her adopted children. She told me that they don’t make any salad or cook any food until the customer orders it, so it is very fresh, and that they use organic products when possible. She told me to walk around and take all the pictures I wanted. Then she offered to whip up some French Toast for me to try! I declined as graciously as possible without going into detail about my shaky relationship with wheat, and said I only had time for a couple pictures. I think that late Sunday afternoons are nice quiet times to take pictures in beautiful Portland restaurants.

To complete my trek, I crossed Macadam Avenue at the light and arrived at Willamette Park. The River is just visible through the trees.

Writing this blog entry this evening, I was surprised at how little information I could find online about some of these places. I would enjoy hearing from any readers who could provide information to add here. Especially about the history of Porcelli’s…

When Coffee Plant was open, I was there almost every week. I appreciate the reminder that I need to visit again SW Corbett again before too long. I don’t hear from people too often, so I appreciate your comment. Thanks.